Why should Granato and the assistants be brought back?

[Stoner]

2 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

If Granato is back then I am not. We have seen exactly who he is as a coach and how these players don’t respond under him when big games are played. Poor starts to the season, poor starts to games. Special teams, especially the PP has been a joke. I can’t watch him behind the bench anymore.

If Granato is back they are 14 years without playoffs.

From a crass financial point of view only I don't see how they can bring Granato back. Crass as in he's going to lose you money. I realize they'll be eating some of his salary.

[inkman]

34 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

From a crass financial point of view only I don't see how they can bring Granato back. Crass as in he's going to lose you money. I realize they'll be eating some of his salary.

I’ve worked for owners who jumped for joy over piles of money to grab the pennies they could see on the other side.  Maybe Terry has surrounded himself with people that can prevent it. Maybe…

[Crusader1969]

DG seems to have gotten a better sense of calling Time Outs and changing goalies and it was good to see him lay into them last week and maybe he continues to improve next season?  Not enough reason to save him   0-6 when they got within 3 points of the wild card this season is damning

[Goldseatsaud]

Wrack them all

[...]

46 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

DG seems to have gotten a better sense of calling Time Outs and changing goalies and it was good to see him lay into them last week and maybe he continues to improve next season?  Not enough reason to save him   0-6 when they got within 3 points of the wild card this season is damning

That was one f$%&ing game out of how many? It's not even a blip on the radar.

We don't need a learn-as-you-go coach who is severally handicapped on the uptake.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Other than the goalie coach, no member of this coaching staff should return next season.  

[Carmel Corn]

3 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

From a crass financial point of view only I don't see how they can bring Granato back. Crass as in he's going to lose you money. I realize they'll be eating some of his salary.

My cynical view is that HCDG has two more years under contract that Pegula won't pay for nothing....so that's maybe $4 million (?) of incentive that Pegula will consider to NOT fire HCDG.  To be clear, I really want him fired.....YESTERDAY!!!

[bunomatic]

8 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

DG seems to have gotten a better sense of calling Time Outs and changing goalies and it was good to see him lay into them last week and maybe he continues to improve next season?  Not enough reason to save him   0-6 when they got within 3 points of the wild card this season is damning

Called a timeout at 0.2 seconds left in Dallas tonight. I’d like to hear his explanation for that one. 

[JohnRobertEichel]

6 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

My cynical view is that HCDG has two more years under contract that Pegula won't pay for nothing....so that's maybe $4 million (?) of incentive that Pegula will consider to NOT fire HCDG.  To be clear, I really want him fired.....YESTERDAY!!!

How much money will Pegs lose by not firing Meatballs? Ticket sales for next season will plummet if he's kept.

[Believer]

23 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

Called a timeout at 0.2 seconds left in Dallas tonight. I’d like to hear his explanation for that one. 

“Now, boys, when the horn blows I want you to skate off the ice with your shoulders back and your head held high.”

[Thorner]

 

[Flashsabre]

3 minutes ago, Thorny said:

 

When there is no expectation of winning you don’t need to think about not making the playoffs. Pathetic 

[Second Line Center]

Don’t care either way - but yes they should be fired.  Then, per 2024 NHL rules, when we start 2-8, does new guy get fired?  What’s the rules?  People getting fired left and right the Rangers are winning the Cup anyway - btw I said after opening night loss to the Rags we just lost to the best team in the NHL.   That team looks different.   

 

We have bigger problems. 

1. Terry Pegula as de facto Team President 

2. The city of Buffalo is not a place the players we need want to relocate their families to.  
 

We can overcome one of those two.  Not both.  
 

Too many heads in the sand over number 2.  
 

“We want guys that want to be here” is a mantra that’s born out of necessity.  Thus the build from within that’s beyond to the extreme right now.   
 

But like I said.  You can overcome one of those not both.  

Edited April 10 by Second Line Center

[Believer]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

 

And, that has been Granato’s and Adams blind spot all season long. No “Commitment to Winning.”…

Instead, they produced complacency with the goal of youth development…

From the final three preseason games through 79 game nights…

It’s as simple as that, I believe.

[Thorner]

13 minutes ago, Second Line Center said:

Don’t care either way - but yes they should be fired.  Then, per 2024 NHL rules, when we start 2-8, does new guy get fired?  What’s the rules?  People getting fired left and right the Rangers are winning the Cup anyway - btw I said after opening night loss to the Rags we just lost to the best team in the NHL.   That team looks different.   

 

We have bigger problems. 

1. Terry Pegula as de facto Team President 

2. The city of Buffalo is not a place the players we need want to relocate their families to.  
 

We can overcome one of those two.  Not both.  
 

Too many heads in the sand over number 2.  
 

“We want guys that want to be here” is a mantra that’s born out of necessity.  Thus the build from within that’s beyond to the extreme right now.   
 

But like I said.  You can overcome one of those not both.  

“We want players who want to be here” was a thinly veiled shot at Jack Eichel. That’s it - that was its origin. It was merely a headline. A narrative. Every team wants guys who don’t actively want to be somewhere else. This doesn’t present the Sabres with a legitimate obstacle to making the playoffs in a league where half the teams make it: we only need to achieve mediocrity. Most players don’t have a NMC. We missed by 1 point last year with THAT owner AND the “no one wants buffalo” stigma. We can absolutely make it with competence. To think otherwise would be absurd: it was one point. A competent GM can bridge that gap. 

If we can field a winner, if we can get competent GM work, once we finally make the playoffs we’ll actually see some real culture change. Build it and they will come. Or, least, more will come. They have to sell-out to winning in the now, because THAT’S actually the building block for more wins in the future.

[Second Line Center]

29 minutes ago, Thorny said:

“We want players who want to be here” was a thinly veiled shot at Jack Eichel. That’s it - that was its origin. It was merely a headline. A narrative.
 

 

I think it was a combination ROR and others.  Why did ROR want out of here?  
 

The Pegula’s.  He knew they had no clue how to build a team.  He accepted a trade here thinking this was a new up and coming team - I’m not sure why we had one prospect - Jack.  Maybe Sam at the time.  

 

Saw how bad it was and wanted out.  

 

29 minutes ago, Thorny said:

 

 

Every team wants guys who don’t actively want to be somewhere else. This doesn’t present the Sabres with a legitimate obstacle to making the playoffs in a league where half the teams make it: we only need to achieve mediocrity. Most players don’t have a NMC. We missed by 1 point last year with THAT owner AND the “no one wants buffalo” stigma. We can absolutely make it with competence. To think otherwise would be absurd: it was one point. A competent GM can bridge that gap. 

If we can field a winner, if we can get competent GM work, once we finally make the playoffs we’ll actually see some real culture change. Build it and they will come. Or, least, more will come. They have to sell-out to winning in the now, because THAT’S actually the building block for more wins in the future.

 

It’s all accurate.  Like I said - both Pegula running the show, and the city - two biggest problems we have.  The owner a much bigger problem.  I’ll excuse that I’m sure these guys don’t have how badly they’ll get taxed as maybe even a top 2 or 3 reason they’ll avoid a team.  I’m sure it doesn’t help tho. 
 

Every year for Buffalo teams should be URGENCY to win.  We spent 3 years losing on purpose and Terry hasn’t found a way to fully recover from that. 
 

But I think we are close.  KA has to convince guys with NMC or NTC to come here.  
 

That to me has got to be near impossible right now given all the toxicity of the Pegula era over multiple GMs and Coaches - I’ll refer right back to ROR.  And then Jack and Sam leaving and instantly finding greater success.  2 Cups.  One a Cup appearance.  The players in this league know.    
 

The reputation of the Pegula Sabres is ATROCIOUS.  

Edited April 10 by Second Line Center

[Doohicksie]

Matt Ellis needs to become the Matt Ellis of fired coaches.  I think the whole staff needs to go but Matt Ellis shouldn't even travel with the team tonight.

[sabremike]

Players are happy and want to go to an armpit of humanity like Pittsburgh because they are always a winning team. Players would have no problem coming to Buffalo if the team was good, in fact the location bordering Southern Ontario would be a draw for many of them.

[SABRES 0311]

They shouldn’t be brought back. I’ve been critical of the players coming out soft but there is probably a fair amount of blame for that on the coach. If the coaches don’t prep the team with a realistic game plan, the players won’t exactly be confident. It’s like they spend the first ten minutes feeling out the opponent and then the players adjust accordingly. Problem is it results in getting outscored in the first too often. 

Get a coaching staff who Instills confidence through deliberate planning and accountability and watch what happens.

DG and crew I think go with the idea that being understanding of mistakes will allow the team to play with calmness. They confuse complacency with confidence. It’s like a parent who wants to be their kid’s friend. DG isn’t just a coach, he’s a cool coach 😎.

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

“We want players who want to be here” was a thinly veiled shot at Jack Eichel. That’s it - that was its origin. It was merely a headline. A narrative. Every team wants guys who don’t actively want to be somewhere else. This doesn’t present the Sabres with a legitimate obstacle to making the playoffs in a league where half the teams make it: we only need to achieve mediocrity. Most players don’t have a NMC. We missed by 1 point last year with THAT owner AND the “no one wants buffalo” stigma. We can absolutely make it with competence. To think otherwise would be absurd: it was one point. A competent GM can bridge that gap. 

If we can field a winner, if we can get competent GM work, once we finally make the playoffs we’ll actually see some real culture change. Build it and they will come. Or, least, more will come. They have to sell-out to winning in the now, because THAT’S actually the building block for more wins in the future.

I don't fully disagree, only with the bolded.

While it was in part a shot at Eichel it was also a true statement about a few different players. From Leino to Berglund to ROR to Eichel we've had a number of players who have said their happy to be here only to run out the door at their first opportunity or just stop trying to play altogether.

"Most players don’t have a NMC."

While from mathematics standpoint this is true; a large number of the type of player we are looking for do. We aren't looking for 4th liners or pure castoffs. Likewise some high end players never received any NTC/NMC since they are effectively locked in there for life. For example, Aho and Svechnikov. Aho however will have a full NMC starting next season.  Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are a couple more examples; the likelihood of them being traded is slim to none.

The players we are looking for are the guys in that middle range, defenseman akin to 2,3,4 and higher end 2nd/3rd line players who can play a role and thrive. The issue is many of those players have NTCs as a deterrent to being dealt at the deadline. Since a team can far more easily eat 2mil on a 2x6 mil contract to pick up better assets than they would eating 4 mil of a 4x8mil. The dealing team isn't going to have any interest in 4 years of retention while the other team cant afford the 8mil cap hit.

[Thorner]

32 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

I don't fully disagree, only with the bolded.

While it was in part a shot at Eichel it was also a true statement about a few different players. From Leino to Berglund to ROR to Eichel we've had a number of players who have said their happy to be here only to run out the door at their first opportunity or just stop trying to play altogether.

"Most players don’t have a NMC."

While from mathematics standpoint this is true; a large number of the type of player we are looking for do. We aren't looking for 4th liners or pure castoffs. Likewise some high end players never received any NTC/NMC since they are effectively locked in there for life. For example, Aho and Svechnikov. Aho however will have a full NMC starting next season.  Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are a couple more examples; the likelihood of them being traded is slim to none.

The players we are looking for are the guys in that middle range, defenseman akin to 2,3,4 and higher end 2nd/3rd line players who can play a role and thrive. The issue is many of those players have NTCs as a deterrent to being dealt at the deadline. Since a team can far more easily eat 2mil on a 2x6 mil contract to pick up better assets than they would eating 4 mil of a 4x8mil. The dealing team isn't going to have any interest in 4 years of retention while the other team cant afford the 8mil cap hit.

We’ve been through this a million times dude. NMCs aren’t an excuse. Yes, you are darn right from a mathematics standpoint what I said is true. The LARGE majority don’t. The pool of players we have “access” to after accounting for these clauses still provides hypothetical options for improvement 100 times over relative to the amount of ground we are trying to make up, here. The ground to mediocre. Teams have an average of about 5/6 NMCs per team last i checked.

I *understand* the players we are looking for you don’t need to keep telling me. I understand a lot have NMCs. I also understand we only need a few additions. The potential pool is vast. Over 75% of players, plus nhl ready prospects/guys on ELCs aren’t affected by the NMC issue 

- - - 

As for the Eichel thing, I feel like you just disagree with me on everything I say re Eichel on principle. The statement was about Jack. Leino and Berglund were LONG gone no one was thinking about them and even ROR was dealt by a previous GM.
 

The quote was about Jack

Edited April 10 by Thorny

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, Thorny said:

 

Team is a bunch of losers. The head coach sets the tone and the tone is no accountability. 

[triumph_communes]

8 hours ago, Thorny said:

 

Coward

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Team is a bunch of losers. The head coach sets the tone and the tone is no accountability. 

I have been ambivalent towards the coach and his staff but it really appears he has no answers. I think it’s time to move on.

[tom webster]

8 hours ago, Second Line Center said:

Don’t care either way - but yes they should be fired.  Then, per 2024 NHL rules, when we start 2-8, does new guy get fired?  What’s the rules?  People getting fired left and right the Rangers are winning the Cup anyway - btw I said after opening night loss to the Rags we just lost to the best team in the NHL.   That team looks different.   

 

We have bigger problems. 

1. Terry Pegula as de facto Team President 

2. The city of Buffalo is not a place the players we need want to relocate their families to.  
 

We can overcome one of those two.  Not both.  
 

Too many heads in the sand over number 2.  
 

“We want guys that want to be here” is a mantra that’s born out of necessity.  Thus the build from within that’s beyond to the extreme right now.   
 

But like I said.  You can overcome one of those not both.  

Buffalo/WNY has a fairly good rep amongst older players with families. It’s a majority of the younger players who have a choice that don’t want to come here. Again, as stated before, no demographic is one hundred percent either way. The Bills have no problem recruiting players they want